Kevin MacDonald is favourite for Aston Villa job

31 Aug 2010 10:47:15

Keen: MacDonald wants to be manager at Villa Park
Kevin MacDonald is the frontrunner for the Aston Villa job after telling the board he wants to succeed Martin O'Neill as manager.
MacDonald has been in charge for Villa's opening five games of the season and had refused to commit himself to taking on the role on a permanent basis.
But the former Liverpool player now wants to be considered as the full-time successor to Martin O'Neill who quit three weeks ago - five days before the new campaign got underway.
MacDonald previously had a spell as temporary boss at Leicester in the mid 1990s following the departure of Brian Little.
He has enjoyed mixed fortunes during his current tenure, steering Villa to two league wins out of three but also seeing them exit the Europa League at the final qualifying round stage.
MacDonald insists that making himself available for the post does not mean he is guaranteed to be appointed but Sportsmail understands he is considered the red hot favourite to be handed the job.
'Who says I will be chosen? Whoever gets interviewed, if they come up with the right solution on how to take the club forward, that would be the right person for the job,' he said after Villa's 1-0 victory over Everton.
Exit: O'Neill stunned Villa by leaving five days before the start of the new season
'It would help me being in the position. That would put me in a more favourable position than people who come in from the outside.
'But you then are going to look at people to be interviewed who have got a lot more experience, have won things and have done it at the highest level as well.'
The likes of skipper Stiliyan Petrov, James Collins and Luke Young have all backed MacDonald to be made manager in the past few days.
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